Leading science and care for animals

OUR MULTI-DISCIPLINE EXPERTISE SAVE LIFE OF CLINICIAN’S DOG

If you are going to be hit by a car, then being hit whilst on a walk 50 yards from a veterinary specialist centre is probably the way to go.

Tiggy, a two-year-old female Jack Russell Cross belonging to one of our ophthalmology clinicians, Rachael Grundon, was presented to our small animal hospital one evening in January after being hit by a car.

On arrival, Tiggy was not able to walk, was extremely depressed and she was having severe difficulties breathing. Initial tests revealed the presence of severe lung injury and fractures to her pelvis caused by the impact, along with liver and splenic bleeding.

Despite initial treatment, Tiggy underwent cardio-respiratory arrest due to severity of the injuries, particularly lung haemorrhage. Fortunately, the cardiorespiratory resuscitation (CPR) was successful and Tiggy was kept on Intensive Care Monitoring (ICU) for several days. Her vitals and blood parameters were constantly monitored. Due to the presence of severe lung bleeding, Tiggy became severely anaemic and she received a blood transfusion. Her pelvic fractures were extremely painful and required intensive analgesia via an epidural catheter to numb her lower back and pelvis.

Overall, Tiggy had a slow but progressive improvement and she was an extremely brave (and lucky!) little dog. As soon as Tiggy was stable enough to be anaesthetised, she underwent surgery in order to fix the several fractures at the level of her pelvis. We believe that without a prompt intervention and the multi-disciplinary work from our anaesthesia, internal medicine, neurology, imaging and orthopaedics vets and nurses, Tiggy would not be with us today.

Her owner, Rachael, says “You work with these people day in and day out yet it was still amazing to see everyone working together to save my dog. It was very different to be in the position of owner rather than clinician and inspiring to see how much effort was made over one small dog. To have such levels of skill and talent concentrated in one place, saving my dog, was humbling.”

The Animal Health Trust is a veterinary charity, based in Suffolk, which offers clinical referral services and diagnostic testing for horses, dogs and cats in East Anglia, across the UK and internationally. Through its research programmes it develops new diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines to help thousands of animals.